I'm always amused when the left bristles at the "socialist" term. Just because you prefer terms like "progressive" doesn't make it any different. It's socialism clear and simple to want to take everything from those who work and give it to those who don't.

The "rich" will never pay their "fair share". Even Tina Turner and Denise Rich (both big democrats) have left the country and moved to places with lower tax codes.

So, as usual, those of us in the middle are left holding the bag.

When you are "lead' by a man who spends his days calling the successful people of the country "selfish and greedy" you create a hostile environment for success.

Even your beloved Paul Krugman has admitted that Obamacare will lead to higher taxes and medical rationing.

What we need, and I wish the President would come out for in a BIG WAY, is a dramatic restructuring of the tax code intended to address the real-world dynamics of globalism - one of which is the fact that many high-net worth individuals, whether they are management or investors, clearly feel greater loyalty to their bank accounts than they do to their fellow Americans. If we wish to remain one nation for much longer, this cannot be allowed to continue.

What is needed is a nationalistic tax code - a code that treats income earned while employing hard-working Americans in a much more favorable fashion than income earned any other way. This approach would almost certainly involve lowering tax rates for business physically done in America (as is almost all commerce conducted by small business) - while retaining current corporate rates for commerce conducted outside of the country. It would implement truly draconian penalties for companies and individuals who attempt to game this new tax system by fraudulently claiming this new "enterprise" rate. It time to wrap the Stars and Stripes around the American worker again and take pride in 'Made in America'.

I did not watch! Why bother? The guy spews nothing but BS. I was listening to him for a while, then I realized the guy is an empty suit. He knows nothing about creating jobs. He's never has a real job. This country will surely go bankrupt with his "leadership".

What we need, and I wish the President would come out for in a BIG WAY, is a dramatic restructuring of the tax code intended to address the real-world dynamics of globalism - one of which is the fact that many high-net worth individuals, whether they are management or investors, clearly feel greater loyalty to their bank accounts than they do to their fellow Americans. If we wish to remain one nation for much longer, this cannot be allowed to continue.

What is needed is a nationalistic tax code - a code that treats income earned while employing hard-working Americans in a much more favorable fashion than income earned any other way. This approach would almost certainly involve lowering tax rates for business physically done in America (as is almost all commerce conducted by small business) - while retaining current corporate rates for commerce conducted outside of the country. It would implement truly draconian penalties for companies and individuals who attempt to game this new tax system by fraudulently claiming this new "enterprise" rate. It time to wrap the Stars and Stripes around the American worker again and take pride in 'Made in America'.

1. Allow Bernanke to continue to print trillions while buying up 70% of our own bonds much like Japan has done which has allowed them to avoid all out collapse for the last 20 years. That Ben is able to retire, write books on how he avoided the second Depression and wonder why it isn't selling because people don't have money for books, nor read books anymore.

2. Allow those that don't want to work to be supported by a shrinking middle class vs. the rich who, let's be serious, through trusts, offshore accounts, multiple residences and other accounting gimmicks are pretty hard encourage to ever contribute more than 20% per year but make a wonderful political deflective target.

3. Have a muddled, myopic energy policy that focuses on a product that heats homes and creates electricity but which is not even a 15 year solution. Nat Gas has given the US a reprieve from OPEC which I hope we squander while poisoning our water.

4. As our economic might declines, I hope that we can continue to contribute and outsized police force for the rest of the world and jump into 10 year wars with no economic or seemingly political advantage to win.

5. That we continue to find new ways to provide the American Dream in housing to those that really shouldn't even entertain the idea much less have the downpayment and reserves to embark on that road. Similarly, that the Federal insurance for coastal homes ravaged year after year by weather is expanded so that the people enjoying those homes can continue to do so for premiums running at a couple thousand dollars per year. After all, spreading the cost of others bad investments, poor decisions and misfortune among those that were prudent is the "New Normal".

6. That the government continues to push the advantages of a college degree, make huge loans ridiculously easy to get regardless of the quality of the degree chosen, intelligence of the individual or the strength of the industries and economy that new grads come out into the world searching for. 50% unemployment for new grads could be improved with more liberal arts degrees.

7. That instead of arresting bankers complicit in providing loans to people for cars, education, homes, small businesses, green industry, strip malls that NEVER should have been considered, the government continues to find new ways under the mantra of "greenshoots" to try to prime the pump 4 years after the collapse.

8. That the Fed continues to assume that a rising stock market is equal to consumer confidence. That inflation currently running at 8% for most of middle American can be ignored if the headlines shout 2%. $5 gasoline and $50 for a bag of groceries will end badly at some point

9. That Congress finds new issues to point fingers and create artificial cliffhanging reality TV that continues to frighten businesses into not hiring. That all Congresspeople work on tans like Boehner and George Hamilton, vote themselves raises and get more than one third the year off to mingle with their constituencies in the Hamptons.

10. That we become more politically correct using it as an excuse for civility when it really is an ongoing attempt to paper over real issues that need real dialog to come up with real solutions. 75% of the 2.6T spent each year is for chronic diseases and 30% of Medicare costs is spent in the last year of life.

Were we watching the same speech? I didn't think the middle class was a major concern of his agenda or the creation of job growth which is our most pressing issue.

Obama said that he doesn't want bigger government, he wants smarter government. Well, what else could he say when we see on a daily basis just here in Massachusetts alone how wasteful and inefficent government really is. The bigger government gets and the more it takes on it seems the worse it operates. Here in Massachusetts it was recently discovered that 47,000 families that were supposedly receiving public assistance do not exist. This has wasted huge amounts of taxpayer money at a time when Deval Patrick wants to raise even more taxes. Weekly here in Massachusetts we hear of various departments of the state government that are just not operating for the benefit of the people. Until government can get its own house in order it has no business raising our taxes.

Obamacare is another huge government program getting ready to make its grand entrance on the American stage and will be a huge source of waste and ineffiency based on the 13,000 pages that defines it and as Nancy Pelosi has said that we will find out what's in it as we go along which is not comforting that it's so massive that even the Democrats are unsure of its contents.

This is the problem with government that grows to become "Too big to Fail" and is not the answer to our problems. A smaller streamlined government would be easier to manage and more efficient. So much easier to manage that large bloated government spread all over and trying to be all things to all people type of government which will inevitably not be sustainable just as many of our current entitlement programs are not sustainable as they now stand.

I believe the proper analysis of Cmmrade Obama's speech tonight is as follows:

"Mr. President, what you've just said ... is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul..."

Again 4 years too late... The middle class has decreased health coverage and pays higher rates as result of Obamacare..... They pay higher taxes.... It is so sad that we voters elect a Fake Senator that says the Middle class is getting hammered but it is result of Socialist policies implemented by Obama.. Hey Libs get a hold of your selves, GOVERMENT SPENDING ONLY CONTRIBUTES .50 cents to GNP for every Dollar Spent.. That is ECON 101... Government spending was not designed to stimulate the economy because of the budget spending process Goverment uses. Also the Government ALWAYS HIGHERS THE MOST UNQUALIFIED WORKERS TO RUN DEPARTMENTS... Just look at the Registry of Motor Veichles... He spent $840 billion dollars in 09 but did not stimulate the economy... Obama and his minons spin it as we saved jobs.. Just remember a Blind Rat could run a business if it had UNLIMITED FUNDING... We know that 30% of the People on Welfare Benifits are scaming the system.. Here is a fact from the FCC. 41% of the Obama phone takers can not qualify for it now because they did not meet the INCOME standards... LOSERS... We need to reduce Government Spending and let the PRIVATE SECTOR SPEND THE MONEY... HEY LIBERALS if a Mojority of American Workers had good paying JOBS THAT PROVIDED HEALTH INSURANCE WOULD THERE BE A NEED FOR OBAMACARE???? NOOOOO!!! Government has there priorities in the wrong area... Decrease taxes and Government Spending and watch economy grow... That again is ECON 101.... I am sick an tired of Government spending only BENIFITING A SELECT FEW... Just look at the Green Energy industry... Obama PICKS LOSERS AND SO DOES DEVALUE... Village Idiots.....

I liked the president's state of the union although his overriding task at hand is to get Congress working again for the benefit of the public, the middle class in particular, that has been diminished by erroded ragulatory practices going as far back as the Reagan Administration. Unfortunately, without the functioning power of the legislative branch of the government, the president is in a very uphill battle. It will be interesting to see if his new attitude as it were can strike deals the way FDR did in implementing the New Deal that forces the hand of a divided Congress. I did like that the president was focusing on a plan that has historical precedent for working to bring this country out of recessions and depressions in spite of the fact that Republicans are balking at it when their plans have no historical precedent for success and in point of fact have a large precedent for failure (Hoover's administration to name one).

Oh and for those who think that decrease taxes and reign in spending works consider this:

1) The public sector has been destroying jobs to save money faster than the private sector is creating them decreasing across the board tax revenue. If the government invests in public sector job growth the tax return alone from employing people will pay for the initial investment and begin to drive down the deficit.

2) The government has lowered taxes despite increasing expenses during the last two decades near consistently. The govenrment has to bring taxes back to regular levels (sans cuts) in order to begin to bring in stable revenue for reinvestment in this country's assets that boosts our overall balance sheet. If the federal government keeps taxes low, we will continue to see state and local level tax increases anyway to cover what the federal government is not providing (the money has to come from somehwere- duh). What the government also has to do, that the president touched on, is raise the federal minimum wage to encourage employers to bring wages more in line with the cost of living. The reason tax hikes hurt so much is because wages are still not keeping up with the cost of living.

3) We need SHORT-TERM government investment to get the market moving again. The private sector is still not lending to finance high-growth projects and, like in 1907 and 1932, the government needs to step in in the short-term to get the ball rolling again. The market will follow and the government can then contract again but the govenrment is the only institution with the power to absorb the risk involved with that kind of investment right now (and we need the infrastructure projects anyway to fix our crumbling highways, rail links, and ports of entry).

4) We also need effectively funded internal oversight to eliminate waste in government spending. The federal deficit does need to be reduced but a small but manageable amount of debt should be left over to generate stable financing capabilities for future projects (believe it or not, no debt is a bad thing). Effective internal oversight alone can return over 100% return on government investment by eliminating internal waste especially in Medicare and Social Security without cutting a single program.

5) We need a reformed tax code funded by federal internal oversight to make the code simpler both on the revenue collection side and on the small business end to encourage entrepreneurs to take risk and grow their businesses without the need for hefty tax lawyer bills that prevent them from seeing real growth. The government needs to streamline its revenue sources to make them more transparent and the people need to be able to understand how their money is collected and what it is going toward so that they begin to trust the government and its needs for functioning.

In short, the government does not function just on economics 101. The government's balance sheet consists of complex revenue sources and investing practices that are designed to put services ahead of profits to do for the people that which they cannot do for themselves. While this is a tricky practice, it can be done responsibly but simply cutting programming and lowering taxes does not solve the problem and in point of fact, if a company did the equivalent of cutting revenues and services, it would be the first sign we should all be looking for a liquidation sale in its imminent future.

Are you the one that removes posts to suit the Globes socialist agenda ?

Isn't it time we stopped with the "Socialist" canard? The right has an unhealthy fixation with the dreaded threat of socialism every time their philosophy is challenged. Use a pacifier if you must, but please stop with this infantile reference.

I agree it's an infatile reference. Just as infantile as referring to conservatives as bigots/racists.

The "socialist" accusation is pretty much empty rhetoric: just about any government program impacting society can be described as "socialist". Actual social control of the means of production? Not so much...

On the other hand, although often overused, the "bigot/racist" accusation has more substance to it when applied to the right. The "traditional values" of certain conservatives can include homophobia, sexism and racism.

I got YOUR message Rubie.

Lets ban "socialist" from the vocab when used toward the leftist pinko commies in power.

WHILE promoting "bigot/racist" against the conservatives.

You're a real peach !

You are pretty much proving my point. Empty rhetoric from an empty head.

He should start by cutting off all the junkies drunks,illegals, whor-s who have another kid every year and all the other s-it in our society who are stealing undeserved money for ssi, EBT cards,free housing etc etc

It's socialism clear and simple to want to take everything from those who work and give it to those who don't.

It's hilarious how few of those on the right even know what "socialism" means, yet they'll throw it about as a political curse word.

Here have a dictionary, but since you seem to need help, a clue: It comes down to government ownership of the means of production.

1 : any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods 2 a: a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b: a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state 3 : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done

Yea, um you basically just laid out the Democrats policies with that definition. Thank you!